1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to water heaters of the type which are designed to be installed in vehicles and more particularly to a combination water heating and food warming unit which may be powered by a source of electrical energy associated with a conventional vehicle. In the preferred embodiment the water heater and food warming unit is specifically designed to be rugged in construction and compact in structure so as to be readily useable within military combat vehicles including tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks and related vehicles as well as in aircraft including, but not limited to, helicopters and troop transports.
The water heater and ration or food warming unit of the present invention includes a tank in which water is heated by tapping a source of energy supply associated with the vehicle utilizing low amperage heating elements which maintain the water at a temperature at which it may be used for: human consumption such as for making coffee and tea; as a source of hot water for shaving and other health needs; and as an indirect source of energy for heating and supporting field rations or other food packets so that hot food is available to individuals while they are positioned in remote areas.
2. History of the Related Art
The long existing need for an effective means for providing hot water and heated rations for the crewmen of combat vehicles was reemphasized during operations involved by the United States and it's allies during the war against Iraq. In today's high-tech military environment there remains an area of troop support which has not been adequately addressed. Troops in forward or remote positions have not had adequate sources of hot water; either for use for consumption, such as in the making of hot tea or coffee, or for purposes of personal hygiene such as for shaving, washing or medical applications. Further, such troops have also not had readily available sources of hot food while in remote positions.
During operations involved with Desert Storm, forward units such as personnel in armored personnel carriers and tanks were subjected to extremely cold daytime and nighttime temperatures, often below freezing. Due to the mobile nature of such units, the setting up and establishing of food service facilities was not practical. Therefore, if troops sought a source of hot water, for whatever reason, they often resorted to placing containers on the exhaust manifolds or engine blocks of their vehicles. Such a method for obtaining a source of hot water is not only dangerous but it is inefficient and cannot provide the necessary protection to insure proper sterilization of fluids being utilized for consumption. In addition, although troops in the field were provided with food rations, referred to as meal ready eating (MRE) packs, such rations were cold and no adequate source of heating was available.
Of the allies involved with Desert Storm, only the British were provided with water heaters installed in their armored units. Such water heaters, however, were not efficient as they operated at high electrical energy levels and did not provide for the heating of food rations except by mixing of hot water with food packet rations.
Over the years there have been numerous innovations directed to providing sources of hot water in conventional vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,975,797 to Matheney, a water supply means for automotive vehicles is disclosed which incorporates a water heating tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with respect to an automobile engine. The water is heated by the heat from the engine and thereafter dispensed as desired. Unfortunately, with this type of heat exchanger, the only way of providing energy for heating is to run the engine. Running an engine to provide a source of heat is not practical and in many combat situations would be totally impossible. Further, the temperature of the water is not adequately regulated to insure not only the destruction of bacteria necessary for providing a healthy source of hot water but also is not regulated to insure that water temperatures are not too hot to prevent scalding when the water is being dispensed. In this respect, the invention requires a separate mixing tank for mixing cold water with the hot water to insure proper temperatures during dispensing. Such a system, involving several tanks, one of which is mounted in heat exchange relationship with respect to an engine, is clearly not suitable for use in many environments and especially in military environments where compactness and control of the heating unit is of utmost importance. A similar water supply source utilizing heat exchange from an engine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 4,140,150 to Rundell.
In order to provide more responsive and practical heating units for automotive vehicles, other patents have been granted for innovations dealing with electrically heated water supply devices. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,830,613 to Mason, U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,563 to Hirst, U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,279 to Lapera et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,522 to Kimura. In each of these patents water heaters are disclosed which are powered by a source of electrical supply in the vehicle. The power is either provided directly from the vehicle battery or from an outlet such as a cigarette lighter socket. In each case, however, the heating and dispensing units are not designed to allow their use within combat vehicles including tanks and armored personnel carriers wherein the units would be exposed to a great deal of physical shock caused by the movement of such vehicles in rough terrain. The patent to Lapera discloses a complex dispensing apparatus which requires the use of a separate pump in order to dispense fluid from the system. Such a unit requires additional energy output for the pump which would not be conducive for use in many environments. Further, none of the liquid dispensers or hot water heaters disclosed in the patents provide any means for simultaneously heating food rations, such as MRE packs, and thus would not satisfy the dual need for supplying both hot water and hot food to individuals in the field.
Other hot water supply systems or food storage systems for automotive vehicles are disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 1,776,890 to Dart, U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,713 to Menuto and U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,013 to Ponzo et al. .